Elena is sitting in her desk chair, her back to the door while she stares at the window. When she hears the tell tale creak of her office door opening, she spins around and waits for him to speak.
"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Enzo asks carefully, the tension in his body obvious by the stiff set of his posture.
Elena gives him a nasty look. "No, and if you want to keep your job, you won't call Elijah, Enzo, Kai or anyone else for that matter. Yesterday was more than enough." After the detectives finally left, Elena told him, leaving no room for misinterpretation, that she wanted to be left alone, she needed a minute or two. Instead Enzo thought calling Kai, urging him to drop everything and rush to her side was something that she'd appreciate.
She did not.
Enzo catches her warning loud and clear and quickly backs out of the office, his eyes never leaving hers till the door shields him from her sight.
Elena sighs feeling restless. She wishes she could do something, anything to take her mind off of all the madness. She just needs to stop thinking. If she could just turn that part of her brain off, then maybe she could go over the first set of plans for the reconstruction of the old Harper building. The purchase hasn't been announced yet but the project is near and dear to her heart. She dreamed about making it a reality since she and Elijah by sheer happenstance drove past the building one afternoon. Opening The Amazon, a sister club to The Jungle is only in the planning stage but maybe this time next year, it'll be a reality?
The property is ideal for her plans, it's located on a huge lot on the other side of Reno but it's only a stone's throw from the city center. The old brick building from the outside appears to be in a state of disrepair. When the realtor gave them a tour, she saw all kinds of possibilities to bring her dream to fruition. The first thing she did was hire a structural engineer to determine the safety of it. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when he reported that it was structurally sound but would need work to bring it up to code. When completed, instead of an jungle theme, it will have a rainforest décor with hanging plants with animatronic snakes and sloths and other creatures native to the Amazon jungle. Also on the agenda is a trip to Las Vegas to speak with Brett and Wade at Acrylic Tanks. She's certain they'll be able to come up with the perfect design to fit the rainforest décor. Just thinking about it makes her giddy with excitement.
Then suddenly her heart starts to pound so hard that she almost stops breathing.
Will she even be able to see the project through if they railroad her into a prison cell?
She's so deep in thought that she startles, jumping when the phone on her desk beeps.
"Yes?" she barks, knowing it's Enzo, again, calling her.
"Don't kill me please..."
"What the...?" she doesn't finish as there's a short knock on the door and before she can raise her eyes, Elijah's already entering her office.
"Enzo!" Elena howls.
"Not my fault!" Enzo lets himself be heard from the other room.
Elijah chuckles and she's caught of guard at this inappropriate display of gaiety. For Elijah anyway. Oh my what if he hasn't heard?
He takes in her shocked face and gives her an amused smile.
"What?" Elena tries to make some sense of this new Elijah.
"Well, I heard someone here, namely you, is in dire need of some good news."
Judging by the shit eating grin on his face, Elena knows he's just about to deliver some.
He really must be a glutton for punishment.
For some reason Ric decided they should eat lunch at The Jungle because he's never eaten there. He in his, self-perceived infinite wisdom, decided that it would be the perfect place for them to discuss their next strategy. Damon rolls his eyes, he'd like nothing more than to give his buddy a knuckle sandwich right now but somehow manages to keep his hands to himself. They're alone today, Luka is spending it practicing target shooting at the academy's training center.
A little while later they're sitting at a nicely secluded table, Ric admiring the interior. "This is a fine place!" he whistles. Do you think they would close it up if she's tried and convicted?"
"And what if she's innocent, Ric?"
"Then good for her, she could make this all go away if she'd just cooperate. If she's innocent, she has nothing to worry about, no harm done right?" Ric says nonchalantly.
Damon gives him a dark look which doesn't go unnoticed. "Look, Damon, you know as well as I do that her role seems crucial in this case. Every bit of circumstantial evidence we have points directly to her. And we know that she hated her brother. What if he threatened her, which is what I find the most plausible by the way. What if he was trying to take all of this away from her? This place," he gestures, extending his arms, "is where she gets her strength. She couldn't allow him to ruin her livelihood. And quite honestly Damon, she has enough minions in her stable that are more than capable of committing a murder. Any one of them has the means to cover their tracks too... hell you're the one promoting that particular theory!"
"I know Ric and I'm not saying it's impossible but she kind of... doesn't look like..."
"Really, Damon? She doesn't look like a criminal? That's where you're going now, trying to catch murderers based on their looks? Clearly that's where your head is when it comes to Miss Gilbert."
"I hope you'll have to eat your words, buddy. You know me better than that. And yes, it was, is my theory that she has a role in all of this but is she a cold-blooded killer? We should just push..."
Suddenly a shadow falls on their table and they become aware of Caroline's presence. Damon remembers her from the occasions when he accompanied her for lunch. She always serves Elena's table. However, when she doesn't move, it quickly becomes unsettling. Their drinks are already on the table and it's too soon for their lunch to be ready.
"Excuse me sir, sir..."
They both raise their heads, staring at the pretty waitress who's face is rather stormy. Actually she's shaking with anger. "Don't you two not have any decency? Couldn't you wait till you were outside before you start badmouthing our owner? Who do you think you are and what gives you the right to talk down your nose about her? Are you really so arrogant? You're not gods but clearly you seem to think otherwise. Do either of you have a brother that tried to ruin your life?"
She pauses for effect then continues her tirade. "You're supposed to seek out the truth, what happened to equal justice under the law? How dare you judge her for not wanting to give him a job and for wanting to protect everything she's worked so hard to build here?"
When Ric tries to defend their position, she raises her palm silencing him, clearly she's not through lambasting them yet. "You, detective," she points her angry look at Ric, "you're probably an only child and never had to deal with the things she's had to. You would be wise to take a piece of advice."
"Which is?" Damon asks, his hand clutching his drink.
"Get your heads out of your asses and find out who really killed Jeremy. And stop harassing my friend. Where was Reno's finest when Jeremy was doing his level best to try to destroy her?"
She huffs, collects her composure and in a bossy tone adds, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go check on your lunch orders." She turns around and starts to walk away. The detectives share a look and Ric quickly jumps up to stop her.
Since the damn case started, this is the first time one of Elena's employees, aside from those in her inner circle, has expressed such loyalty to her. Is this girl actually portraying Elena Gilbert as not only a good person... but also a victim?
"Pardon me, ma'm," Ric turns on his full charm. "Can we have a word with you when your shift is done?"
"So, let me get this straight, you were in New York City for a trial but somehow you accidentally found out that Damon... err Detective Salvatore, was placed in a children's home as a young boy and which one it was? That doesn't sound very coincidental and how did you even begin to know where to look?"
"It wasn't by accident, Elena, the place is well known and my looks well, they lend... credibility." he smirks, his eyes twinkling.
Elena rolls hers. "But how did you know...?"
"Have a seat, I'll tell you."
She nods and joins him on the couch after pouring them each a small glass of Jack.
"Thank you," he says, clinking his glass with hers. After taking a refreshing sip, he licks his lips and shifts his position so he's facing her.
"Well?"
"All right, Elena, my mother told me. She's been around the founding families long enough to know that they all have a few skeletons in their closets and luckily for us, she's not a lawyer so she isn't bound by the attorney, client privilege. She's never been one to feel duty bound to the unwritten code of the founders. You know as well as I do that she likes to gossip," Elijah gives her a boyish smile. "She told me Giuseppe found Damon in New York City and after arranging for his adoption, brought him here. She said he had a difficult time trying to adapt to his new life. She was pretty loose lipped, we were imbibing in a vintage bottle of wine after all," he chuckles, taking another swallow from his glass.
"Go on."
"She said that when he made the decision to become a cop, his choice was suspect and thought to be a little obsessive given the unique circumstances of his childhood. She clammed up after that, saying it had something to do with her code. Well you know how she's always been passionate about her charitable work and fundraising for the local shelters, I just knew there was something more, something uncommon..."
Elena's head's spinning, she's not quite sure what to do with the information but she kind of feels bad for the young Damon and his rough beginning. What surprises her is that she suddenly can see that he's a real person, one who lurks behind the facade of the determined cop. She takes a breath and throws back what's left of her own drink.
"How do you think it can help us, 'Lijah? It's not like we can blackmail him with this information. Adoption isn't illegal and the only thing we'd accomplish is pissing him off." She gets up long enough to get the bottle and pour them each another.
"Maybee...," Elijah stretches, "but that's not all that I found. With a bit of boldness, they confirmed Damon was there, a kind lady remembered him. He was unceremoniously dropped off by his parents, seems they relinquished their parental rights. Some months later, he was picked up by Giuseppe, they didn't tell me who picked him up but of course they didn't need to. As we talked, Madam Sheila, as everyone calls her, told me of Damon's sister. It seems that she went there looking for him... wanting to know if they knew where she could find him. And the kicker is, it was only a few weeks ago."
"Damon has a sister?" Elena can't help but hang on his every word.
Elijah nods and continues. "Yes, she left a phone number just in case Sheila might remember anything that would help her contact him. When she asked for mine and my permission to get in touch with the woman, I was only too happy to oblige."
"And?" Elena interrupts impatiently.
"... And, she called me before I even got back to my hotel."
"This is mind boggling. Did she tell you more about him?"
"Yes...," Elijah makes a dramatic pause, "she told me Damon probably hates her because she stole his place."
After Caroline finishes her shift, she hopes to slip out from under the detectives nose but as soon as she steps outside, she finds them waiting for her. Rolling her eyes, she approaches them.
She's reluctant to talk to them openly, clearly, she needed them to piss her off to get her fuse lit. It was only then that she started spitting her truth right in their faces. All it takes to light it this time is Ric reminding her that they could bring her to the station. She lashes out again before he even finishes his sentence.
"The only way you'll get me to the police station is to arrest me and then I'll file charges against you for false imprisonment. If you think you can threaten me... you better rethink that position. I am not a dog that you can train to bark when you whistle. Either start talking or I'm leaving."
Ric and Damon make eye contact then follow her back into The Jungle. When Caroline sees Kai, she tells them to wait where they are. They watch as she points towards them and although Damon can see he's a bit irate, Caroline nods and then gestures for them to follow her. When they pass, Kai gives them a fiery look which makes Damon fell a) angry, b) guilty, he's not sure which is the dominant emotion but he does know he'd rather go bald than have to deal with him on a daily basis.
Caroline leads them to a small office located at the rear of the building. Ric is still a little taken aback by the woman's sudden outburst but she seems to be cooperative by the time they're all seated.
"Please explain to us what you know about Miss Gilbert's relationship with her brother. Would you say she was a victim?"
Damon knows should Elena become privy to what's going on, she'll feel even more betrayed when she finds out, rightly so but he's still a cop and he has a job to do. If she really is innocent, maybe Caroline will inadvertently point him in the right direction.
Caroline gives Ric a look and contemplates how deeply she wants to be able to help her friend since Elena isn't doing much to help herself.
"You know, Detective Saltzman, I'm not stupid and I know you want me to answer the question that Elena is reluctant to, the one she keeps a tight wrap on. I don't care how smart you think you are, I'll play along for now. Let me tell you another story," she pauses to get a bottle of water out of the small office refrigerator. After taking a long swallow, she screws the cap back and sits back down.
"I was still at college when I first crossed paths with Jeremy Gilbert. He was good looking, funny and generous. What you may not know is that I come from a founding family myself but I didn't have the luxury of growing up swimming in money. I didn't have any to spare so he would take me to parties, I never had to pay for anything. That is until some of his sidekicks started putting pressure on him to repay the money he owed. They wanted in, they knew that under Elena's keen business acumen, The Jungle was raking in more money than ever. Jeremy suggested that I get a job there and sell stuff for them. I flat out refused and that's when he reminded me of the money he'd spent on me. He kept pushing and pushing. More than once I was followed on my way home, one guy even jumped me but I know how to defend myself and I carry. Before you ask, yes, I have a concealed carry permit. When it happened again I sought out Elena and told her everything..." she pauses for a moment to compose herself.
It's obvious to Damon that drudging up these memories isn't easy for her.
"I don't know what she did or said but Jeremy never bothered me again. Elena gave me a job, paid me well, helped me find a place to live in a decent area. There was one other time that someone started to approach me in the parking lot but before he even got close, one of the security guys showed up and the guy ran. Alexander followed me home and made sure I was safely inside before he went back to work. I'll be forever grateful to Elena for all she's done for me."
"That's a nice story, Caroline, may I call you that?" He continues when she nods, "but you haven't told us anything new. All you did was confirm again that the Gilbert siblings didn't get along," Ric's questioning the relevance although both of them feel affected. "Maybe Jeremy finally pushed her too far and she decided the world would be better without him?"
"You - arrogant - ass! You don't deserve answers to your accusing questions. All you do is twist them to suit your pre-determined narrative." Caroline's exasperated.
"One of his ...ehm... buddies told us he was frustrated with his sister, that she threatened him..."
"Of course they'd say that. His low life scumbag friends would say anything to make her look bad. Seriously, what's the matter with you two anyway? You believe those drug dealing pimps over everything I've told you?"
"Caroline?"
"Don't Caroline me, detective, I'll say one last thing and then we're through here. Jeremy wasn't afraid of Elena... she was afraid of him."
Elena's silent for a long moment, frowning as the implications of what Elijah just said sink in. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"Well, given what my mother told me, there's a whole range of possibilities. In all cases though, Detective Salvatore has one great big skeleton in his closet, one that we're about to uncover and then..." he pauses letting his words to permeate.
"Elijah, how do I just throw his misfortune in his face? He was a child then, what kind of person would that make me? I'll admit I'm curious but I don't even know what all of this means..." When he opens his mouth, she quickly points out "and neither do you. Are you sure you're telling me everything?"
Elijah reaches his hand to squeeze hers. "Elena, you are the most compassionate soul I've ever had the pleasure to know. But don't brush off this opportunity, at least not till we've heard her story."
Elena's about to protest, demand that he tell her everything he knows but he stops her with a gesture. "I don't want your perspective to be influenced by my conclusions. What I want is for you to listen to what she has to say and then you can decide what you want to do with it, if anything."
"If you want me to hear her out, I take it she's coming here or are we flying to New York?"
Elijah nods. "Yes, I have already made arrangements for her arrival. I have a hotel booked and transportation arranged. Her only caveat was for me to promise that I would make it possible for her to meet her brother. Of course, that won't happen till after she tells us her story."
She hesitates, starring at him for several seconds before nodding her agreement.
"Now that this matter is settled, I'd like to know what kind of trouble you got yourself into while I was in New York."
"That's going to require more alcohol..."
"Miss Forbes seemed to catch you off guard?" Damon raises his eyebrow at Ric's dazed expression.
"What? Man, she's got more sass than I expected, hell she would've had me drawn and quartered if I had taken my eyes off of her. That girl, she's damn scary."
"A little lady like that?" Damon laughs.
"What can I say, I'm impressed with her chutzpah."
"You don't say?" Damon rolls his eyes, "So... what do you think about her veracity?"
"I think it's pretty clear that Miss Gilbert had means, a huuuge motive and the opportunity to kill her brother or have him killed. Not only did they hate each other, if we're to believe Caroline, he was intent on ruining her livelihood and he threatened her. Again if Caroline is correct, she was afraid of him. I would say that's reason enough, wouldn't you?"
"I'm not so sure, Ric. Something doesn't add up. Why would Caroline give us all of this information then? I don't know, she seems fiercely loyal to her boss, clearly considers Elena to be a good person and I think if you were to present this theory of yours to her that she'd have your balls on a silver platter within seconds, btw."
Ric mumbles something under his breath that Damon can't quite catch. Rather than press him on it, the two men decide to walk back to the station to clear their minds.
Two floors above them, Enzo sidles up close to the window, staring intently, as he watches them depart the premises.
Elijah's tawny eyes are cold and narrowed by the time Elena finishes her story. She told him everything, well almost but she's sure that like Rebekah, he can put two and two together. She doesn't mind though because of all people that shouldn't be lied to, your counsel is it. Besides, she knows he'll never throw an 'I told you so' at her.
"Let me get this straight. That bastard took advantage of your distressed state, after the two of you had sex? And rather than leave with his head hung, he came back and pushed you till you blurted out how you feel about Jeremy?" He swallows what's left in his glass and then slams it down on the coffee table. "Unbelievable."
"Well, I'm not happy with him either but to be fair it wasn't him that pushed my buttons, it was Detective Saltzman. But then he came back...," she feels like a little girl, trusting her daddy with her most painful secrets. It doesn't feel as bad as she would have with anyone else but still... it's embarrassing.
"That is even worse, he brought his sidekick along cause he was too much of a coward to do his dirty work himself. How...professional," Elijah's livid, she can tell, she would never want to cross sabers with him.
"Alright Elena darling, I think you should call Kai or maybe your trusted masseuse and spend a nice evening spoiling yourself rotten. I'm going to pay Chief Jordan a nice visit and then I'm going to call Miss Katherine Pierce to arrange our meeting.
"That's her name, Katherine Pierce?"
"Yep and let me assure you of this, by the time I'm done, Detective Salvatore won't know what hit him."
Huge thanks to all of you, you're the reason we continue to write Damon and Elena stories. You all are the best of the DE fandom. And I really have to give you all a shout out. "I Can't Escape Myself" went over the 2700 review mark. That Delena is so precious to me and to Eva. They're so young, teenagers and they face a world of obstacles through no fault of their own. Elena is the true hero of that story because she never stops fighting for herself, for them and for Damon.
Huge thanks to you, Eva. You're always willing to take the leap with and help write these stories when I come up with ideas for these stories.
Chapter title: 'He's Got a Secret' by The Bangles.
We did post a o/s last week, "A Restless Heart and Obsidian Skies".
Have a fantastic day and thank you again so very much. We'll see you next time.